Kinshasa authorities restore Internet, block mobile phones

Authorities restored Internet access in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, but kept mobile phones blocked on the fourth day of violent protests against President Joseph Kabila.

The Internet connection of AFP's office in Kinshasa started working after a lockdown of almost 48 hours, while police clashed with demonstrators over an electoral law before parliament that would enable Kabila to stay in office beyond 2016.

However, 3G mobile telecommunications and text messaging, which account for almost all private connections across the vast central African nation, remained unavailable in Kinshasa.

The mobile links were also cut elsewhere. AFP correspondents in Lubumbashi, the nation's second city in southeastern Katanga province, and in the northeastern city of Goma, reported no cellphone service.

The government authorised Internet service providers to put the network back online, without 3G technology, in a move that largely benefits big business, administrative offices and diplomatic missions, a source close to the case said.

Government officials were due later Thursday to meet phone operators, who are keen to restore services to their customers.

The bloodshed has claimed 12 lives, according to the government, which blames all the deaths apart from that of a policeman on private security guards and rejects a toll of more than 40 dead by human rights monitors.